HyperTunnel recently exhibited and presented for the first time at the British Tunnelling Society’s (BTS) Conference and Exhibition at the QEII Conference Centre, London, UK.
The company’s founders and engineering experts and hyperTunnel’s chairman, Mark Carne, formerly chief executive of Network Rail, presented to the industry as part of the two-day conference programme.
Building on extensive industry engagement and the formation of a technical board comprising 11 heavyweight names from the world of tunnelling and beyond, hyperTunnel has, for the first time, unveiled its radical concept for the construction, enlargement, repair and maintenance of tunnels and underground structures.
On show was a physical prototype of its proprietary robotic delivery system, which, when transported through horizontal directional drilling (HDD) bore pipes, can 3D-print a tunnel in the ground, as well as carry out repair and monitoring duties. The concept, currently under advanced testing at various sites in the UK, is supported by a suite of integrated technology approaches. These include digital twins and digital underground surveying, supported by AI and VR, which have all been proven in other sectors.
“We could not wait to finally show some hyperTunnel hardware to our tunnelling industry colleagues, who have been curiously following our progress and supporting us over the past couple of years.” said co-founder and co-CEO of hyperTunnel, Steve Jordan. “The hyperTunnel team went to BTS primed to answer a lot of questions on how the approach can help consultants and contractors achieve their projects faster, with less project risk, with reduced impact on the environment and much more cost-effectively than current methods.”
